Another Manning Showing the Way

Archie Manning wasn’t playing quarterback the last time Mississippi defeated Alabama.

It only seemed that way.

Things changed Saturday when Eli Manning, Archie’s youngest son, ended the Rebels’ 10-game, 13-year losing streak to the Crimson Tide with a dramatic 27-24 victory at Oxford, Miss.

Ole Miss scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to erase a 10-point deficit. The winning score was a three-yard pass from Manning to Joe Gunn with 46 seconds left.

Manning, a sophomore in his first year as a starter, ran off the field with the game ball from a victory that will stand with some of biggest in school history, including those directed by his famous father.

“I need that football for my memories,” Manning said.

The win improves the Manning family’s record against Alabama to 6-2. Archie was 2-1 against the Crimson Tide from 1968-70 and Peyton Manning won three of four against Alabama while at Tennessee from 1994-97.

“Oh, that’s just another stat, but I’ll try to add on to it,” Eli Manning said.

A beleaguered Ole Miss defense, which was pounded by Alabama’s option for the first three quarters, gave Manning a last shot to be a hero by stuffing the Tide on a third and one deep in Ole Miss territory to force a punt late in the fourth quarter.

“Coach [David] Cutcliffe told me before the winning touchdown drive, that this is the position a quarterback wants to be in at the end of the game,” said Manning, who completed 22 of 41 passes for a career-high 325 yards with no interceptions. “You’re the one that decides if your team wins or loses.”

Manning nearly had that touchdown with about four minutes left, but his fourth-down pass under pressure from the Alabama nine to a wide-open receiver in the end zone sailed high.

But Manning would make the most of his second chance, proving that he’s more than just Archie’s son and Peyton’s brother.

With more certainly to come.